Jimmy Kimmel has become a spokesperson for Scott Pelley after the longtime broadcast journalist was fired from “60 Minutes.”
Perry was removed from the news magazine’s show after accusing new CBS News chief Bari Weiss of “murdering” the show and saying new executive producer Nick Bilton was “not the right person for the job.”
“Last night, as a result of President Trump’s misconduct at CBS, a great and deeply respected journalist, Scott Pelley, was fired from his job at 60 Minutes because he championed truth and integrity on a show that has been the gold standard of broadcast journalism for 57 years,” Kimmel said in a monologue Wednesday night.
Kimmel said Perry said “enough is enough” after “the clowns who now run that program and the CBS News division” fired colleagues including Tanya Simon, Dragan Mihailovic, Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega. “So much for Scott Pelley,” Kimmel said. “He said the erosion of values at the top was becoming unsustainable, and he had him say it in a staff meeting, face-to-face with the new hire.” (Mr. Perry’s blistering attacks on the new leadership of “60 Minutes” were leaked to the press, leading to a meeting the next day and Mr. Perry’s firing.)
“The president, of course, applauded this despicable decision,” Kimmel added. “The president said Scott Perry is part of a group of crooked, stupid people. Not the same group of crooked, stupid people that he belongs to.”
Mr. Perry, who joined “60 Minutes” in 2004, was fired after questioning his qualifications in front of the editorial staff and telling Mr. Bilton that he was “never welcome” on the show. After a meeting between Perry and the show’s new leadership, CBS decided to terminate Perry’s employment “for cause.” In a letter obtained by the news outlet, Bilton wrote to Perry: “Yesterday’s histrionic display of hostility, which took place in front of the staff and not in a private private conversation, demonstrated that you are not interested in contributing to the future success of the program or in approaching my new term with a willingness to collaborate and progress.”
In a call Wednesday with CBS News employees, Weiss defended the firing and accused Perry of destroying the foundation of “trust and mutual respect” among employees.
Perry later released his own statement, claiming that “the new management directed me to inject falsehoods and bias into politically sensitive stories.” “I was told to include unverified claims,” Perry wrote. “Up until now, I have been able to ignore or refuse these instructions in all cases.”
He continued, “The leadership of 60 Minutes is no longer recognizable. The principles I hold dear are gone. And I must leave, too.”
